SA316

The Aérospatiale Alouette III (French pronunciation: [alwɛt], Lark; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation. Introduced in the early 1960s, more than 2,000 units were built during its production run that extended for six decades. The Alouette III was developed as an enlarged derivative of the earlier successful Alouette II. It shared many design elements with its predecessor while offering an extra pair of seats and other refinements. It quickly became a commercial success and was operated by a range of civil and military customers. Further variants were also developed; amongst these was a high-altitude derivative, designated as the SA 315B Lama, which entered operational service during July 1971.